St. Francis of Assisi revolutionized Christianity in 13th-century Tuscany with his down-to-earth belief that poverty, chastity, and obedience should shape an individual’s relationship with God. By going back to Christ’s original message, he played a pivotal role in the genesis of the Renaissance. This poignant program investigates how St. Francis’s infusion of emotion and nature into the Christian mainstream inspired artists of the period to produce naturalistic depictions of him that were full of action and feeling. Interviews with Monsignor Timothy Verdon, art historian at Canon Florence Duomo; Franciscan Friar Maurice Richard; and Alexander Nagel, art historian at the University of Toronto, are featured. (49 minutes)